8. Poultry

Year-on-year comparisons between 2015 and 2016 December Survey
results show:

An increase in the
total number of poultry of 1.00 million (7.5 per
cent) to 14.42 million - similar to the 8.1 per cent annual
increase reported in the 2016 June Census results. The December
figure is four per cent higher than the ten year average of 13.81
million.

An increase in the number of
broilers of 1.07 million (19.1 per cent) to 6.67
million - larger than the 14.9 per cent increase reported in the
2016 June Census results. The figure is 9.2 per cent lower than
the ten year average of 7.35 million.

A decrease in birds for
laying eggs for eating of 90,000 (1.4 per cent),
with the number of layers falling to 6.51 million - compared with
a 3.5 per cent increase in the 2016 June Census results. The
figure is 25 per cent higher than the ten year average of 5.21
million.

An increase in
breeding birds of 56,000 (5.1 per cent), with
the number rising to 1.15 million - larger than the 0.3 per cent
increase reported in the 2016 June Census results. The figure is
2.4 per cent lower than the ten year average of 1.17
million.

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Significant restructuring in the broiler industry resulted in
poultry numbers decreasing markedly in 2014/15, but then recovering
in 2016. In the longer term, layer numbers have been increasing,
with, in 2015, layers outnumbering broilers. (Contrast this with
2008 when there were 8.0 million broilers to 3.8 million layers).
In 2016, broiler numbers recovered, exceeding layers in both the
June and December counts. These changes have also been reflected in
the income figures published in January.

Chart 9 shows trends over the past ten years
from the December Survey and June Census for broilers (used for
meat production), laying fowls (used for egg production) and
breeding birds (used to produce broiler and layer chicks). It
should be noted that there is some inherent variability in the
annual poultry data, which can be affected by short-term
operational factors.

For some years, the chart shows large differences in the number
of broilers and layers between June and December. This variability
can occur if large poultry units reduce the number of birds on
their holdings over the survey date, for operational reasons such
as the cleaning of premises. Also the poultry production cycle is
very short compared to other livestock, which provides producers
with the flexibility required to change production levels in
response to market conditions.

Over the past ten years total poultry numbers have fluctuated
around 14 million. However since 2013 there has been a drop in the
number of broilers, and an increase in the number of poultry for
laying eggs.

Chart 9: Poultry, June and December 2006 to 2016

Broilers fluctuated around 8 million until 2013, since when
broiler numbers fell. There were 6.67 million broilers in December
2016.

The figures for laying fowls had been steady at about four
million until 2009, before increasing noticeably to over five
million in 2010, a level which was maintained through 2013, before
increasing again recently. Over the ten year period the December
Survey results show an increase of 2.42 million (59 per cent).

The trends in the annual number of breeding birds have been
fairly constant with the December Survey and June Census both
averaging about 1.2 million birds over the ten year period.